the idea that machines and their development derive economic and cultural change.
Invention of Writing
Before oral/Pre-literature culture-local based. Memory was key: myth and history intertwined.
picture based alphabets ex. chinese characters; cuneiform; hieroglyphics; required intelligence to read.
an alphabet employing sequences of vowels and consonants, that is, words. (aka that alphabet we use today. flourished in Greece.)
Invention of the Printing Press
Gutenberg; It brought uniformity, the ability to send books long distances, and a proper way to record memory. It expanded the audience of literacy to lower cases because it become cheaper to print. Also less control from the church so new ideas flourished.
Cultural definition of Communication
Communication is a symbolic process where by reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.
Third Person Effect
the common attitude that others are influenced by media messages but I am not. Basically we are literate to know the influence of media but not aware of it's influence on our own lives.
a message transformed into an understandable sign and symbol system. ex. speaking; writing; They are then carried by a medium. ex. BMW--> encoded msg: fast;luxurious; sporty;
Socially constructed shared meaning
learned behavior of a shared social group; we learn our culture via communication with friends and media;
Limiting and Liberating effects of Culture
culture limits our options and provides guidelines for behavior; ex. body image; can I burp after dinner? body image: limit bc makes you think bad about yourself; liberate: defy limits-->beyonce
Culture can divide and unite
divide us by stereotypes: yes I am American but I do not fit the American stereotype.
within large national culture there is a smaller social group. ex. Italian neighborhoods; down south . These smaller cultures unite people
Culture can divide via miscommunication
ex. Islam vs. West after 9/11 when Americans hated on muslim Americans just because they were biased after the attacks.
Industry in transition
Industry is in turmoil because of the economic downturn; movie attendance is flat, album sales down
However media consumption is at an all time high?
the ownership of the media outlasts by larger, non media company. ex. GE owns MSNBC; Disney owns ABC
(market structure) a concentration of media industries into an ever smaller number of companies.
Time Warner, Viacom, News Corps (FOX) owned by Rupert Murdoch (Australia); Bertelsmann AG
Economies of Scale:
relative cost of an operations output declines as the size of the endeavor grows. EX the money it takes to make one show to send two 1, 2, or 100 outlets stays the same. They are opening more avenues for money to flow in via all the outlets.
It is primarily large, multinational conglomerates that are doing the lions share of media acquisition.
the use of media by corporations as many channels of delivery as possible for similar control. A company can do well if they have a book, a magazine,tv, and more simultaneously.
Consequences of Ownership Concentration
-lack of diverse contents, not only in the us, but also globally.
-Use of "safe" content ( be sure to generate profit and avoid controversy)
-Price goes up (oligopoly)
-more commercially driven contents ($ deciders everything) ex 17 mins of commercial per hour
-increasing the amount of ad and mixing of commercial and noncommercial media contents.(product placement)
brands are apart of and essential to the program, ex. Transformers__> camaro in plot line
give something for free then play on radio; bringing someone with money to use your product and show interest.
In 1860 Irwin and Erastus Beadle began publishing these; by 1865 Beadle and co produced over 4 million volumes. also called pulp novels. Allowed for mass circulation of books and literacy go hand in hand increase.
Books are the oldest and simplest medium; Since books are free of advertising you can write many controversial things.
Books are agents of social and cultural change
Books are highly influential ex. Karl Marx; Thomas Paine, the Bible, Uncle Tom's cabin
Important sources of personal development
Harry Potter series acted as a gateway to read other books. ex. resumes for dummies
Modern day Banned books
Harry Potter, Huck Finn, To Kill A Mocking Bird, Of Mice Of Men, Goosebumps, The Color Purple, In the Night Kitchen Modern day parents of religious groups pressure schools and public libraries to take off shelves.
Reasons for Censorship
sexually explicit; offensive language; unsuited to age group; occult/satanism; violence;homosexuality;promotes religious view points; racist
platform for agnostic publishing; Print on demand (PoD) The content is stored digitally then printed and ship when ordered.
publishing houses were small operations closely identified with their personnel. past;
a few giant publishers sell off characters to make money to film makers, foreign publishers, video games etc. because of this more bookstores are dwindling, fewer chains and small stores; buying books online is more popular.
US Colonial News Papers
-bookseller/print shops broadsides, single shot announcements of events;
-Boston Postmaster published Boston News Letter (1704- the Revolution)
-In 1734 NY Weekly journal publisher criticized colony's royal governor and was jailed bc it was illegal seditious libel
Modern News Papers
In 1833 NY Sun the first 1cent NP known as the penny press (also NY morning herald and NY Tribune) BEGINNING POINT OF AMERICAN MEDIA; used as advertising for $ instead of people buying it.
Why 1cent papers were good.
MP's became a mass informative medium (news, entertainment, and human interests) attached ads
Newspapers for African Americans
-Freedoms Journal- 1827 1st
-Chicago Defender - 1905 - most influential after civil war; 1st commercially successful
NY Morning Herald pioneered the correspondent system by placing reporters in Washington DC, other major cities, and abroad.
origin in 1848; 6 NY Np's pooled efforts and shared expenses collecting news. New york Associated Press
The 5 Global News Services
-The Associated Press (AP; US) Bigggest
-United Press International (UPI; US)
-AFP (Agence France-Presse) France
The Inverted Pyramid Style
allows each NP to cut stry according to its needs (space, importance to NP) with out chopping off key points.
1883; J. Pulitzer bought NY World, adapted a populist approach. Sensational sex, crime, and disaster often exaggerated, giant headlines, illustrations, cartons, to gee rate $ "manufacturing and decorating news"
Pass Along Readership
readers who didn't originally purchase the paper. Brings 104 million people a day in touch with daily (plus 200 million a week in touch with a weekly) good for advertisers.
Large Metropolitan dailies with zoned editions which attack more ads.
NYTimes; LA Times; Washington Post; Suburban and small town daily ex. Newsday LI
2 types; In english: Afro Am, Asian Am, etc
Non English: Hispanics and New immigrants
ex. Hoy, Al Dia, World Journal
Alternative and Dissident Press
typically liberal/progressive; more politics, critical coverage; satire and humor. ex. Eat the State!, The Onion
there is no commercial interest behind college papers and allows for more true form of freedom of speech
Why so Many ads?
1. They reach 5/10 Americans every day
2. Good demographics
4. Also NP is the most trusted-credible medium when making a purchase.
What is in the remaining 35%
there own stories however feature syndicates fill it up (cartoons, columns, essays)
They tell us "what to think" via
-article placement (page selections, top vs. bottom, etc)
Journalism is history
Journalism is the first rough draft of history- Phil Graham; People in the future will use the news articles of today to document history.
Elite readership Era
mid 1700's, mags were popular among elite brits; Andres Bradford and Benjamin Franklin duplicated that success in new world.
Mass Circulation Era 1870's
10-15 cents within reach of many working people; served for social change especially in the muckraking era (theodore Roosevelt) of the 1st decades of the 20th century.
The Era of Specialization
WW2 furthered urbanized and industrialized America. People had more leisure time and personal interests; the mags became more specialized and lifestyle orientated.
Magazines are Americas 1st national mass medium
railroad helped mass circulation of mags and to help develop national brands
1. Trains transtported Nabisco biscuts to more places so they put in ads of mags which went to more places which created a national brand.
Magazines and Ad
Contents: Editorial/Ads = 53/47
55% revenue from Ads
32% subscription income
13%single copy sales
What else matters for pricing and spacing?
Subscription vs. single copy (66% subscription)
pass along readership
demography (ex. Socioeconomic status of readers)
Controlled Circulation (Custom Publishing)
Providing a magazine at no cost to readers who meet some specific set of advertiser-attractive criteria